Obama Administration and Call Centers

By David Butler

With Barack Obama winning the US Presidency on November 4th, it is important to understand what the potential influence of an Obama administration will have on the call center industry. I have taken his published plans and have divided them down into three categories: retraining, tax breaks, and unions. This essay will briefly discuss the secondary category of tax breaks. For the first essay on retraining, see the “In Queue” archives by clicking here.

The Obama economic plan highlights corporate taxes, using taxes as both a carrot and a stick. If a company sends jobs overseas, then that company will lose tax breaks and deductions. Moreover, these companies will not be eligible to receive public contracts which are worth billions of dollars.

As a carrot, the Obama plan calls to reward companies that create good American jobs with benefits. Tax credits for companies that either maintain or increase their number of full time workers in the United States relative to the number of workers outside the United States. Companies need to keep their headquarters within the US, pay decent wages, prepare workers for retirement, and provide health insurance. Supporting employees who serve in the military is also needed.

To assist displaced workers that lose their jobs due to the changing economy, the plan calls for creating flexible education accounts for retraining, retraining assistance to workers in sectors that are vulnerable to dislocation prior to job loss, and extending the Trade Adjustment Assistance to service industries.

Because the details are critical, the industry needs to keep an eye on the forthcoming legislation starting next year to see what the details are and where the exceptions are made to determine the potential impact if these plans are enacted.

Published in the November In Queue newsletter of the National Association of Call Centers.